Please refer to the section above to see the different appointment / employment types within each category. 

For 'Category A' faculty, permanent residence is initiated promptly upon notification from the Department that the offer of Purdue employment is accepted. 

For 'Category B' Research Faculty and employees, the Department must request the permanent residence process. The request is submitted by the designated ISS Liaison through MyISS. In general, it is recommended that permanent residence be initiated during the initial three years of H-1B validity, to ensure that sufficient progress is made prior to the employee reaching the end of the normal 6-year maximum for H-1B status. Note that if sufficient progress is made, 'post-6th-year' extensions of H-1B status may be possible.

For 'Category C' individuals, permanent residence sponsorship by Purdue is prohibited by law. This is because US immigration law requires a more long-lasting employment relationship that the listed appointments involve. This does not prevent the individual from exploring whether they are eligible to 'self-sponsor' permanent residence in either the EB-1A category for extraordinary ability, or the EB-2 category for National Interest Waivers (of the requirement for a permanent employment situation). 

The decision about which Purdue-sponsored permanent residence process is requested in any given situation is based on the following considerations: (1) the limits (if any) of immigration law, (2) Purdue policy and (3) business need. 

1. Immigration Law

In general, U.S. immigration law organizes permanent residence processing into different categories. Some categories are better suited to certain situations than others. In general, the key differentiating factors are is (a) the nature of the role at Purdue and (b) the extent to which the individual can document accomplishment and impact within the field.

2. Purdue Policy

Purdue also has established certain policies for those appointments for which permanent residence is automatically provided (Category A in the section above entitled "Who may be Sponsored by Purdue for Permanent Residence?").

     'Category A' tenured, tenure-track, or clinical faculty, or professors of practice

For 'Category A' faculty, the default process at Purdue is EB-2 Special Handling permanent residence for university teachers.

Purdue offers Category 'A' faculty permanent residence through the EB-1B Outstanding Researcher or Professor process only if (i) EB-2 Special Handling sponsorship is either not available or not viable, or (ii) the employee is adversely impacted by the 'Per-Country' limits placed by US law on permanent residence for applicants of certain countries of birth (countries of chargeability).

     'Category B' Research faculty

For Research Faculty in 'Category B', permanent residence is offered either through the EB-1B Outstanding Researcher or Professor or EB-2 National Interest Waiver. The choice as to which process is utilized is the decision of Purdue's outside legal counsel, upon evaluation of the individual's accomplishment and impact. 

     'Category B' Staff

Employees whose departments have chosen to sponsor them for permanent residence are processed through the permanent residence category best suited to the nature of the position and qualifications of the individual. The International Scholar Services team, and/or Purdue's immigration law firm, will decide which the best category is. In general-

• Staff who are involved in research will be considered for EB-1B Outstanding Researcher or Professor or EB-2 National Interest Waiver or EB-2/EB-3 Standard Labor Certification
• Staff who are involved in teaching or instruction will be considered for EB-2 Special Handling or EB-2/EB-3 Standard Labor Certification
• All other Staff will be processed through EB-2/EB-3 Standard Labor Certification

International Scholar Services determination as to the preferred category of sponsorship for the candidate is final.

Permanent residence is a multi-stage process that takes considerable time. This is because there are multiple submissions to different government agencies, and each government agency is taking increasingly long to adjudicate these submissions. In general-

• EB-2 processes may take up to 2 - 3 years to "complete" (see below for what this means); the majority of this time is spent waiting for each of the four government submissions to be adjudicated.
• EB-1B processes may take up to 2 years to "complete" (see below for what this means); Half of this time is spent in preparing the very complex paperwork required for the submission, while the other half of this time is spent waiting for each of the two government submissions to be adjudicated

What does "complete" mean? US law separates the request for the immigrant 'label' from the request to actually receive the greencard. In other words, the paperwork that asks the government to confirm that the employee is a qualifying immigrant is separate from the paperwork that asks the government to issue the greencard (which documents permanent residence status is granted). The request to be labeled an immigrant is the "I-140 Immigrant Petition". The request for the greencard itself is the " Form I-485 Application to Adjust Status".

Additionally, US law creates a bottleneck in the permanent residence process, called 'per-country limits' which occurs directly before the request for the actual greencard - the Form I-485 Application to Adjust Status. The bottleneck is - in most cases - based on the applicant's country of birth (called the country of chargeability). The bottleneck limits the number of applicants from each country of the world who may receive their greencard during any given year. For more information about Per Country Limits see the USCIS webpage. The US Department of State is responsible for 'countrying' the number of immigrants each year, in their " Visa Bulletin".

"Complete" therefore means that everything up to and including the Form I-140 petition has been filed and has been adjudicated by the government. It does not mean the issuance of the greencard because when that happens will vary wildly from person to person.

To be eligible for full tenure, international faculty must hold a status in the US that permits indefinite work authorization, such as permanent resident status.

Until then, conditional tenure may be granted if the faculty member holds H-1B or O-1 status or has reached a certain stage within the permanent residence process. See also our discussion or procedures for international faculty, here. 

If you want to pursue EB-1B permanent residence, then-

• The request must be approved.
  • For faculty, the Department Head must approve the request for EB-1B permanent residence.
  • For staff, the hiring manager / supervisor must approve the request for EB-1B permanent residence.
  • ISS does not approve or decline requests for EB-1B permanent residence.
• For 'Category A' faculty, the EB-1 process is in addition to the EB-2 process. EB-1 processes are inherently more risky as they involve a subjective evaluation by a non-specialist government bureaucrat about the faculty member’s area of expertise and relative accomplishments within the field.
• The default assumption is that the Department will bear all costs. If the Department and faculty member agree, then the costs can be shared. Costs may not be borne solely by the faculty member. A breakdown of costs may be seen here. 
• By law, the EB-1B process is an employer-driven process. The employer must be the signor to the Form I-140 petition. Purdue policy mandates that EB-1B processes are managed solely by our outside law firm, under the coordination of the ISS office. Faculty members may not pursue EB-1B sponsorship through their own attorney. If a faculty member wants to hire their own attorney for their permanent residence, then that must be pursuant to a category of permanent residence that is self-sponsored: EB-1A extraordinary ability, or EB-2 National Interest Waiver. 
• Once the department (head or supervisor) has approved the EB-1B request, the department's ISS Liaison must submit the request to MyISS. This will initiate an email to the individual (faculty or employee) with a hyperlink to an online "Awesomeness" questionnaire. Once the individual submits that questionnaire, the responses go directly to our outside immigration law firm for evaluation. The evaluation is sent to the department head or supervisor, who makes the final decision about whether to move forward. 

Permanent Residence Options for Staff

• Staff who engage in research
  • EB-1B Permanent Residence for Outstanding Researchers
  • EB-2 or EB-3 Permanent Residence based on labor certification
  • See this discussion comparing the two processes
• Staff who teach or instruct, or coordinate instructional technology
  • EB-2 Permanent Residence based on teaching
• Staff primarily engaged in administrative responsibilities (neither research nor teaching)
  • EB-2 or EB-3 Permanent Residence based on labor certification

If you have questions please email Amanda Thompson, Director, International Scholar Services

In theory, everyone has the right to hire their own attorney to “self-sponsor” permanent residence. However, US law restricts the process by which petitions are submitted to USCIS requesting permanent residence. By law, most permanent residence Form I-140 petitions are considered 'employer' filings. In these situations, the Form I-140 petition must be signed and submitted to the USCIS by the employer. If Purdue University is required to sign the Form I-140 petition, then the permanent residence process must come through the International Scholar Services team. No Purdue employee may hire their own attorney to file a Form I-140 petition, if that Form I-140 petition is on behalf of Purdue University as the petitioner. 

Thre are two exceptions to this, where US law permits individuals to 'self-sponsor' permanent residence. In these cases, the individual may sign the Form I-140 petition for themselves. These exceptions are: EB-1A “Extraordinary Ability” and EB-2 “National Interest Waiver” processes.

Purdue employees wishing to 'self-sponsor' permanent residence are restricted to the two categories for self-sponsored permanent residence: EB-1A “Extraordinary Ability” and EB-2 “National Interest Waiver” processes.

Purdue employees are not permitted to hire their own attorneys for any other permanent residence process; in other words, employees may not hire their own attorney for an EB-1B permanent residence process, for example. Purdue policy strictly requires all Purdue-sponsored immigrant petitions to be processed through and managed by ISS. 

Adjustment of Status is solely the responsibility of the faculty member. Purdue policy prohibits Purdue payment for or assistance with Adjustment. Departments may not pay the Adjustment costs of employees. ISS does not assist.

The faculty member must timely pursue Adjustment once eligible to do so or the ability to extend H-1B status might be affected. Permanent residence (greencard) status is not held until the faculty member files his/her Application for Adjustment with the USCIS and the Adjustment application is approved by the USCIS.